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Hubber2Hubber: Patricia Costanzo Interviews Christoph Reilly

Each week a Hubber chooses another Hubber that they would like to interview for the HubPages Weekly newsletter that gets sent out every Wednesday — we call that interview Hhubber2Hubber. It’s then passed on to the Hubber that got interviewed to choose another Hubber that they would like to interview for the next week’s newsletter and so on and so on. Even though these interviews get sent out to each and every active Hubber out there and even though they also get archived over here on HubPages they are so great that I felt like it was a disservice not to post them over here in the blog as well.

Inquiring minds want to know Chris, what’s a typical day in the life of Christoph Reilly?
I could crack the usual jokes here. “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you,” but really it’s pretty boring. I start off everyday by eating a cold orange. Not much else to tell, really.

You have a theatrical background, does it influence your writing?
Definitely. I think there is a lot of theatre in my writing. For one thing, a good deal of my education came from being an actor and being exposed to professional theatre. Also, it can give you a sense of how to structure a work. It’s like a lifetime of studying the great dramatists. That’s gotta rub off. Please tell me some of it rubbed off.

I think you write deliciously and I have my favorites, but I wonder what yours are. What do you think is your: funniest hub, best ever hub, worst hub, and which was hardest to write? Why?
Thanks for saying that. Let’s see…funny – I think a lot of them are the funniest thing ever written when I publish them. A week later I hate them, but Wise Old Sayings That Are Stupid has been well received. The Best – well, my favorite is The Boy Who Played with Matches. Worst – I deleted it two weeks ago, but New Apple iBoob Breast Implant Set to Explode is embarrassing. I think it sets some kind of record for the most puns ever used in a single hub. And the hardest was The Human Hobbit. It was my first and I didn’t know what I was doing.

Tell us something we’d be surprised to know about you.
I worked for a couple of years as a real estate recovery specialist. That means I broke into houses legally. My job was first to determine if the house was occupied or not, but that could be difficult since a lot of people bolted and left all their stuff behind. In that case I’d have to break in, causing as little damage as possible, which I was usually able to do either by picking a lock or jimmying something. But sometimes, I’d literally beat down a door or bust a window. Many people left these houses in shambles and full of disgusting things, and it wasn’t uncommon for me to have to leave and throw up in the yard. Once I was walking through a house and in the bedroom, I saw a large, female foot sticking out from underneath the covers. I backed out fast and silent and got the heck out. I have no idea if they were alive or not. The thing is, after breaking into hundreds of houses, never once did anyone ever call the cops on me.

If a genie promised to grant you your dream writing job, what would it be?
Being a successful novelist would be ideal I would like to have a successful detective series, like Sherlock Holmes. Failing that, I’d like to be a writer for Esquire magazine. They do some amazing work.

If you could pick only one hub as a favorite by a fellow hubber, which hub would it be?
Impossible to answer. There are so many great hubs and not near enough time to read them.

Tell us a few of your favorite hubbers.
This is the question everyone dreads. There are so many and you know you’re going to leave someone out, but I’ll give it a shot. Of course there’s you Patricia, that goes without saying. Back when I first started, the people who were most influential on me were Spryte, who is fantastic and a great writer, and Shadesbreath who, sadly, isn’t around these days, but what a terrific sense of humor. Gwendymom is a riot and a dear friend, and Mighty Mom too. Pgrundy is amazing and super smart, which she probably gets tired of hearing. Sally’s Trove…it would be hard for me to express all she meant to me. Mistyhorizon2003 is fabulous. Then Pam Roberson joined and she is just a total joy with a great sense of humor and she can write with a serious turn that will rip your heart out. C.J. Stone is always a great, captivating read, and Constant Walker can write well about anything. Rockinjoe has an amazing mind and sense of humor, and I like him in spite of the fact he wants me dead. RMR is a fascinating guy and it’s like he’s two people…or one people and one…something else. I haven’t known him long, but Goldentoad has some interesting stuff going on and he’s a really nice guy. There are some others who are either relatively new or new to me. Randy Behavior is great. She can have you rolling with laughter or give your heartstrings a serious tug. Same goes for BlondePoet, who is an absolute doll. Amy G is a great writer who should definitely be read, and MellasViews is wacky with a very original voice. Her stuff manages to be hysterically funny and serious at the same time, just the kind of stuff that appeals to me. There is a lot of serious talent on HubPages. Those are just a few. Read as much as you can and you’ll keep growing as a writer.

Since you write professionally, maybe you’d like to share a link or three? Go ahead, free advertising.
Most of my professional writing as been for video taped productions. I’m working on getting them onto youtube or somewhere, and I have an idea how I can use this in my writing for HubPages, but there are no links for that currently. I also write for Suite101 which requires a totally different style of writing, but most I’d like for people to check out my blog, The Crusty Curmudgeon. It’s fairly new and I’m getting about 900 hits per day, and growing. I think that’s pretty respectable.

There is a vicious rumor, that you have a cult following, Would you like to address those accusations? And can you tell me if there is a required uniform or membership initiation rituals.
I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member or leader of any cult organization, Patty. It is just that: A vicious rumor perpetrated by those who wish to destroy me. It started with Shalini Kagal (hey, there’s someone I missed: great writer, great friend) was giving me a hard time on one of my hubs regarding my fans and there alleged “obsessiveness.” I knew this question was coming so I didn’t mention her before, but Anna Marie Bowman was involved. They were ribbing me and my fans were suddenly being called stalkers. This made me uncomfortable, which just got them .teasing me even more, now calling my fans a cult. Anna – who up to this point had been a great friend and a writer I admired – wrote the tell-all hub, Christoph Reilly and his Cult Following. So that’s all it is. Just a rumor, and Anna remains a great friend and a great writer. So in answer to your question, Patty, there is no required uniform or membership initiation rituals. Nothing like that. Here… wear these coveralls and come to the compound barn at midnight and meet the “gang.” We’ll take care of the rest.